Monthly Archives: April 2013

Grounded Theory Forum

Submitted by Sarah Neill

In the first meeting of the Grounded Theory Forum, held on April 24th, we discussed the way forward for the forum and generated some exciting ideas, including a GT blog, conference and journal. A wide ranging discussion took place on the different versions of GT and we plan to take this forward to the next meeting, on June 26th, when the second half will be given over to discussing Heath and Cowley’s 2004 paper debating the differences between Glaser and Strauss (reference below). Read the rest of this entry

Graduate School Postgraduate Researcher Conference

Gradschool logo

The University of Northampton Graduate School are holding their annual Postgraduate Researcher Conference on June 27th 2013 and would like to invite staff, research students and supervisors to join them. The conference provides an ideal development opportunity for new researchers to present their research, discuss and share good practice with others in a non-threatening environment.  The conference will showcase the diverse range of research activity within the University and will provide an excellent opportunity for research students to practice their presentation skills.

Any UN postgraduate research students and early career researchers who wish to present their research should email a title and an abstract (ca. 150 words), outlining their research and its context, to Simone Apel by Monday June 3rd. Any students wishing to chair a session (or sessions) should also email Simone. Read the rest of this entry

Researching Learning, Learning to Research

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Submitted by Meanu Bajwa-Patel

The University of Northampton’s School of Education are holding their Annual Research Student Conference on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th May 2013. Entitled “Researching Learning, Learning to Research”, the conference gives UN Research Students an opportunity to present their research to a wider audience. The two-day conference will featuring keynote presentations, research student papers and posters. The conference will be held in the Sunley Conference Centre from 9.00am – 4.30pm. All welcome. Sign up via the Conference Website.

Finding an open access journal for your article

FAQ: How can I find a suitable open access journal in which to publish my work?

Perhaps your funder expects you to publish your work in an open access journal, or you’d like to enjoy the citation advantage of making your work open access, but you’re not sure where to start.  Here are a few things to think about.

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What do you think of the Research Support Hub?

Six months have passed since we officially ‘launched’ the Research Support Hub in October 2012.  In that time the Hub has:

  • published over 270 items on topics of interest to Northampton researchers
  • publicised more than 100 training sessions and events
  • shared over 175 funding opportunities
  • applied over 250 different tags to describe and group this information in a meaningful way
  • been viewed over 11,000 times by readers from more than 100 countries
  • moved to the first result (out of 111 million) on a Google search for Research Support Hub

But how has it been for you?

Do you find the Hub useful?  Are we writing about matters that interest you? Would you like to see more of some topics, or less of others?

After six months it is timely that we review the use of the Research Support Hub and ask our readers what they really, really want.  To this end, please feel free to write a comment about this article, or contact one of the contributors directly.

All ideas will be gratefully received.

Times Higher Education article on doctoral theses

Almost half of doctoral candidates fail to claim that their theses have contributed to knowledge despite this being the main criterion on which they are assessed, a study has found.

http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/half-of-theses-fail-to-show-how-they-advance-to-knowledge/2003278.article

Listen back to CoHaB recordings on Diaspora Studies

Between 21 – 26 March, the University of Northampton School of the Arts hosted the Centre of Home and Belonging Summer school, which featured a number of high profile speakers on Diaspora Studies.  It is our great pleasure to offer you the chance to listen back to talks by Professor Linda McDowell (Oxford University) and Professor Pnina Werbner (Keele University).

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School of the Arts Scholars to Represent The University of Northampton at University of Zaragoza ‘Acts of Remembrance’ Conference

Funded by a Santander Award Dr Sonya Andermahr and Dr Larissa Allwork will be representing the University of Northampton at the University of Zaragoza conference, ‘Acts of Remembrance in Contemporary Narratives in English: Opening the Past for the Future’.

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Transforming Postgraduate Research: Engaging with the Digital World

Monday 17 June 2013, University of Oxford

http://www.thec21scholar.com/oxford/

Transforming Postgraduate Research: Engaging with the Digital World is a one-day interactive training initiative for postgraduate students in the arts and humanities interested in public engagement and digital media. The day will comprise keynote lectures and practical workshops with experts in this field providing insights into using the digital. Students attending this event will explore the value of digital engagement and how digital platforms can be used to enhance their academic profile and produce creative outputs.

Topics that will be covered include: social medias and academia, blogs and academic websites, creative technologies and impact, and showcasing and developing educational resources. In addition to our two keynote talks, the event will also include a student-led Q&A and discussion session between participants and our panel of experts.

Workshop report: Research data management for librarians

Yesterday’s event for Library and Learning Services staff was the third in the series of research data management (RDM) workshops being run by Digital Curation Centre (DCC) staff for the University of Northampton.  Our ‘institutional engagement’ with the DCC is part of a sector-wide initiative to enhance the skills of researchers, and those who support them, in RDM.

As a basic introduction, the session started by clarifying what research data are, then covered data management planning, data sharing and the skills required to support these tasks.  It concluded with a round-up of progress in RDM activity at Northampton.

Interestingly, some of the most energetic debate focused on the challenges of sharing data.

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